A Viking Voyage: In Which an Unlikely Crew of Adventurers Attempts an Epic Journey to the New World

by W. Hodding Carter IV

Book Overview

Fascinated since childhood with Leif Eriksson's triumphant sailing voyage a thousand years ago from Greenland to North America, Hodding Carter could not shake his admittedly crazy idea of reenacting Eriksson's epic journey in a precise replica of the precarious Viking cargo ship known as a knarr . This extraordinary book is the account of how he pulled it off. By turns thrilling and slapstick, sublime and outrageous, A Viking Voyage is an unforgettable...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345420047
• ISBN13: 9780345420046
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Realistic time travel

I followed "Viking Voyage 1000" for 2 summers on the Internet, and was delighted that Carter's book is definitely not a duplication. It's more nitty gritty, not quite so clean-cut, and much more into the relationships, often tense, among the crew. Having spent time in Greenland, in some of the same spots the Snorri sailed, I was delighted to relive the essence of Greenland which Carter magnificently captures -- the rawness of the elements, the tranquility of the vast openness, and how precious people are when so few. On one level I'm taken back into Viking times in this book, sailing a square-sailed ship that refuses to make progress in a headwind, yet with favourable winds effortlessly skims the waves. Yet we are with thoroughly modern men on this voyage, learning rather painfully how to slow down to the pace of rowing hundreds and hundreds of miles, missing children and sweethearts, and eventually finding contentment in the merciless whims of Frey and Thor. I was sorry to finish this book, to finish the voyage through these beautiful northern waters. I especially enjoyed Carter's very honest, analytical, and humourous perspectives, and his very easy-going style of writing. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Viking times, or just a good true adventure story.

Glad I Read This Book

A thoroughly enjoyable book. This account of a modern day group of (mostly inexperienced) men undertaking to recreate as closely as possible the Viking voyages from Greenland to Newfoundland is written in a mostly light-hearted vein and is liberally sprinkled with bits of Viking lore and history, making it both entertaining and enlightening. Amusing instead of macho. Makes me wish I'd been along on the trip.

Good ol'Goombahs

Machismo gives way to real actions and reactions as this tale unfolds. Adventure and acrimony abound aboard Snorri, just what you would expect from 9 "goombahs" trying to sail from Greenland to Labrador. History spun in a humorous and enlightening fashion with plenty of room for interpretation. Fun reading.

Hilarious, Humane Adventurer

A madcap adventure, with an interesting and sensitively-drawn subtext. Carter performs some "living anthropology/archaeology" by recreating the voyage of Leif Erikkson, making plausible revisions of the historian's accepted version, but for me the most interesting insight might well be to remind us that someone is at home, holding down the fort (or, in this case, holding twin toddlers and a newborn infant) while the Viking (then, or today) is out making his discoveries.

the hero as doofus

Finally, a real adventure with a sense of humor and some humility! I just picked up this new book by Hodding Carter and read it straight through. It's the story of Carter's admittedly crazy idea to build a Viking cargo ship ("knarr") and retrace Leif Erikkson's historic voyage discovering North America ("Vinland"). From it's conception as an eccentric lark, born mostly of boredom from working at a post office, to it's successful completion -- Carter raised half a million dollars, built the 50 odd foot boat and sailed all the way from Greenland to Newfoundland over the course of two summers with a mostly inexperienced crew -- the story is hilarious and, at times, moving. Carter's style is uniformly informative, unpretentious and graceful. It was a pleasure to read and got me interested in history in a whole new way! I highly recommend this book. It was especially refreshing to see an addition to the adventure genre completely free from the macho posturing of the so-called adrenaline junkies.